A giant panda couple struggling to produce cubs in an Australian zoo have been given a helping hand by vets who hope to overcome the bears' notorious breeding difficulties with three artificial inseminations. Fu Ni and Wang Wang arrived in Adelaide from China in late 2009 as part of a programme aimed at breeding the Southern Hemisphere's first baby pandas.

“It is high time the world made an all-out effort to stop the ongoing pogrom against Myanmar’s minority Rohingya...,” writes Mohammad Amjad Hossain. “The pogrom resembles those crimes perpetrated against Jews.... The military junta of Myanmar torches Rohingya villages, stops aid to Rohingya camps, and restricts Rohingyas’ movement.... [The United Nations] secretary-general ... must send peace-keeping forces to Rakhine State.... The Security Council should consider imposing economic sanctions on Myanmar’s government as well.... Further bloodshed must be stopped and this manmade crisis resolved. “The hypocrisy of Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is astounding,” states an editorial.

The 36-year-old Mexican marketing consultant recounted an ordeal of more than 30 hours that started on Tuesday afternoon when the 7.1 earthquake hit Mexico City, bringing down the office block she was in, along with dozens of other buildings. When the trembling started, Zamora told AFP, she grabbed her phone and went to the reception area on the third floor of the six-story structure.

“It is high time the world made an all-out effort to stop the ongoing pogrom against Myanmar’s minority Rohingya...,” writes Mohammad Amjad Hossain. “The pogrom resembles those crimes perpetrated against Jews.... The military junta of Myanmar torches Rohingya villages, stops aid to Rohingya camps, and restricts Rohingyas’ movement.... [The United Nations] secretary-general ... must send peace-keeping forces to Rakhine State.... The Security Council should consider imposing economic sanctions on Myanmar’s government as well.... Further bloodshed must be stopped and this manmade crisis resolved. “The hypocrisy of Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is astounding,” states an editorial.

Run by the University of Hawaii, the analogue mission is funded by NASA, to learn what it takes for people to live together in a confined space for months. Crew members were not allowed to leave the habitat, unless they were wearing a space suit. This crew entered the dome in January, undertaking the fifth HI-SEAS mission so far.

“It is high time the world made an all-out effort to stop the ongoing pogrom against Myanmar’s minority Rohingya...,” writes Mohammad Amjad Hossain. “The pogrom resembles those crimes perpetrated against Jews.... The military junta of Myanmar torches Rohingya villages, stops aid to Rohingya camps, and restricts Rohingyas’ movement.... [The United Nations] secretary-general ... must send peace-keeping forces to Rakhine State.... The Security Council should consider imposing economic sanctions on Myanmar’s government as well.... Further bloodshed must be stopped and this manmade crisis resolved. “The hypocrisy of Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is astounding,” states an editorial.

Australia on Monday committed to creating a national space agency as it looks to cash in on the lucrative and fast-evolving astronautical sector. The announcement came at a week-long Adelaide space conference attended by the world's top scientists and experts including SpaceX chief Elon Musk. It brings Canberra -- which already has significant involvement in national and international space activities -- into line with most other developed nations, which already have dedicated agencies to help coordinate the industry and shape development.

Hopes of finding more survivors after Mexico City's devastating earthquake have dwindled to virtually nothing, nearly a week after the seismic jolt shook the mega-city, killing more than 300 people. Foreign teams from Israel, the US and elsewhere worked with dogs and hi-tech gear to try to detect signs of life under the rubble. A series of smaller earthquakes in the south of Mexico on Saturday -- including a 6.1-magnitude tremor that triggered seismic alerts -- stoked panic in a population traumatized by Tuesday's disaster.

“It is high time the world made an all-out effort to stop the ongoing pogrom against Myanmar’s minority Rohingya...,” writes Mohammad Amjad Hossain. “The pogrom resembles those crimes perpetrated against Jews.... The military junta of Myanmar torches Rohingya villages, stops aid to Rohingya camps, and restricts Rohingyas’ movement.... [The United Nations] secretary-general ... must send peace-keeping forces to Rakhine State.... The Security Council should consider imposing economic sanctions on Myanmar’s government as well.... Further bloodshed must be stopped and this manmade crisis resolved. “The hypocrisy of Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is astounding,” states an editorial.

One of Nasa’s “human computers”, who helped plan the mission that saw an American astronaut orbit the Earth for the first time, has opened a new research centre named in her honour. The key contribution of Katherine Johnson, 99, and other African-American women to the US space programme was recounted in the film Hidden Figures, which gave overdue recognition to their work.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A national laboratory's workers producing a shell for a triggering device for nuclear weapons violated safety rules in August by storing too much material at one location in a facility for plutonium, a highly radioactive material, a federal oversight panel reported.

Mexican rescuers were working through the early hours Saturday in a desperate search for survivors of an earthquake that killed nearly 300 people, hoping to defy experts who say the chances of finding life in the rubble after 72 hours are bleak. With exhausted emergency workers still reporting signs of life at several spots in Mexico City, the head of the national disaster management agency, Luis Felipe Puente, warned the coming hours would be critical. Three days is the limit that experts say people trapped in rubble without water, often with crushed limbs, can hold on.

“It is high time the world made an all-out effort to stop the ongoing pogrom against Myanmar’s minority Rohingya...,” writes Mohammad Amjad Hossain. “The pogrom resembles those crimes perpetrated against Jews.... The military junta of Myanmar torches Rohingya villages, stops aid to Rohingya camps, and restricts Rohingyas’ movement.... [The United Nations] secretary-general ... must send peace-keeping forces to Rakhine State.... The Security Council should consider imposing economic sanctions on Myanmar’s government as well.... Further bloodshed must be stopped and this manmade crisis resolved. “The hypocrisy of Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is astounding,” states an editorial.

The phone call was as unexpected as the American accent at the other end of the line. And when she hung up a few moments later, Ira van Eelen had to stop to catch her breath. More than two years had passed since the 53-year-old Dutch woman had spoken that in depth to anyone about…

For the latest Google Doodle, the search giant is honoring an award-winning chemist whose research in organic chemistry had a profound impact on how plants are used for medicinal purposes. Asima Chatterjee was the first female scientist to earn a doctorate in science from an Indian University. The design of the Google Doodle is striking.

Whether wearing white lab coats, red rescue worker vests or dressed as clowns, the psychologists standing by as Mexico picks through the rubble of this week's earthquakes are ready to help a shaken nation deal with its trauma. Whole brigades of volunteer psychologists have deployed to the collapsed buildings in Mexico City where anguished families are clinging to the fading hope that their loved ones are alive inside. "The families still have hope, but we psychologists are starting to prepare ourselves to counsel them in the context of mourning," said Penelope Exzacarias at a collapsed office building in Mexico City's trendy Roma neighborhood.

“It is high time the world made an all-out effort to stop the ongoing pogrom against Myanmar’s minority Rohingya...,” writes Mohammad Amjad Hossain. “The pogrom resembles those crimes perpetrated against Jews.... The military junta of Myanmar torches Rohingya villages, stops aid to Rohingya camps, and restricts Rohingyas’ movement.... [The United Nations] secretary-general ... must send peace-keeping forces to Rakhine State.... The Security Council should consider imposing economic sanctions on Myanmar’s government as well.... Further bloodshed must be stopped and this manmade crisis resolved. “The hypocrisy of Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is astounding,” states an editorial.